The Way We Are
by montreal-girl
Summary: Clove makes the cross-country move from California to Massachusetts before her senior year. While on the East Coast, she meets some of our favorite Panemians (is that the right word?), and drama ensues.
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is! I'm not sure when the next chapters will be up. I've got the first part of the plot semi-worked out in my head, but I don't know when it will be up. I'm trying to keep the characters and major plotlines the same as The New Girl, but since that one was kind of lacking in major plotlines, there wasn't much to change. **

**Hope you like it!**

* * *

Matthew Fuhrman poked his head into his daughter's room on his way down the hall. She was still fast asleep, her form hidden under layers of blankets despite the fact that it was the middle of June. He felt bad about waking her up, but it was seven o'clock and he had a plane to catch.

"Clover," he said, making a point to use his nickname for her as he knocked on the doorframe. She stirred slightly, turning her head to face him. Her eyes opened sleepily and she mumbled something about it being too early. Matthew chuckled before adding, "I'm on my way to the airport."

Clove gave a slight, noncommittal shrug underneath the blankets. They both knew that that meant she would miss him, but it was too early in the morning to get anything else out of her. They had settled into this routine back in California, and there was really no reason to change it when they got to Massachusetts. Besides, Matthew knew that Clove was not the sentimental type. He'd have been lucky to get a "Dad I love you and I'll miss you," even if she was fully awake.

Glancing at his watch, he whispered one last "I love you" to her before continuing down the hallway. Early mornings (he was up at four) and missing weekends with his daughter came with the job, which he liked on most days. It was only on days like today that he wished he had a regular nine-to-five job like other fathers, instead of the slightly erratic schedule of a former NFL player and speaker.

Matthew knew it was especially hard on Clove now, after the move. In California she had friends to go to, family to stay with. In Massachusetts she had family too, but family she hadn't seen in years and wasn't particularly fond of. He hadn't missed the disgusted looks that passed between Clove and her cousin Katniss when Emily had suggested that Katniss introduce her cousin to her group of friends.

These days, he mostly stuck it out by telling himself she'd make friends eventually, even though he sometimes wondered if that was true. Once you got past her tough, bitter exterior, Clove was an easy enough girl to get along with, but maybe he was slightly bias. She was his daughter, after all. Even when she was angry, Matthew couldn't bring himself to call her on it. That was just the way Clove was.

* * *

_Why did Aunt Emily think this was a good idea?_

It wasn't that Clove had any particular reason to dislike her cousin, but something about Katniss made Clove tick, and whatever it was made the twenty minute car ride seem like an hours. Even though Katniss turned on the radio, there was an uncomfortable silence between them. Clove normally wouldn't have been bothered by it, but the uncharacteristic nervousness she felt mixed with the feelings of dislike and annoyance to form one big knot of bitterness.

As they pulled off the main road onto a smaller gravel one, Clove decided that she would rather spend another _two_ hours in the car with her cousin if it meant she didn't have to do this. Somehow her aunt had convinced her dad (who had tried – and failed – to convince Clove, but made her go anyway) that going to a beginning of summer party with Katniss would be a great way to meet the kids she would be spending her senior year with.

The gravel road turned into a smooth, paved driveway. It was a very long driveway, and Clove knew before she even saw the house that the people who lived there were from money. And if the driveway hadn't alerted her to the owners' wealth, the house most certainly would have. A two story colonial, the house was really more of a mansion. Without even looking, Clove knew that the pool behind the house would be on the same grandiose level as the rest of the property.

Katniss parked the car, and, as much as Clove had hated getting into it twenty minutes ago, she now found herself equally reluctant to get _out_. Why had she let her dad talk her into this? A party might be a good way for normal people to make friends, but Clove wasn't normal, and she most definitely wasn't a people person. The entire day was setting up to be her own personal torture chamber.

As she followed Katniss up the walk to the front door, she couldn't help but list in her head all the things that she didn't like in that moment. Her swimsuit rubbed uncomfortably on the back of her neck. Her "cover up" was white and looked terrible against her pale skin. The straps of her sandals dug into her feet.

Her only comfort was in the fact that Katniss also looked unhappy, although that might just have been because they had to come together. As much as she disliked her cousin, sometimes Clove forgot that the feeling was mutual.

Katniss raised the knocker and rapped it against the door. Footsteps were heard inside the house, and Clove mentally prepared herself for the torturous day to come. She figured she had better get used to it anyway. This was her life now.

* * *

**There are some changes (Clove's dad isn't a college professor anymore), but hopefully it's just an improved version of my old story. I tried to cut right to the chase on this one, since the old version was kind of slow.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to Oriondruid for reviewing!**

* * *

It seemed to Clove that the wait on the doorstep took forever. She had almost made up her mind to turn around on the spot when the door opened. She supposed that the boy who stood there was good-looking. If she had to wager a guess, Clove would have said he was a football player – probably a quarterback, if the size of his arms was anything to go by. Still, Clove had been around enough cocky and arrogant people to know that this boy was both.

He flashed Katniss a crooked smile, but Clove could see something in his eyes that told her there was a story there, a history.

"Cato." Clove had heard her cousin use that tone on several occasions since their arrival in Massachusetts, but never with anyone but her.

"Katniss," Cato responded in the same clipped tone, the crooked smile disappearing.

Clove barely had time to ponder what had happened between the two of them before Cato stood aside to let them in. Katniss pushed past him, not even sparing a glance. Before Clove could follow her cousin, Cato stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Who's the new girl?"

Clove rolled her eyes. She had seen his kind before – always more interested in checking her out than getting to know her. But Cato's eyes stayed on her face, and he seemed genuinely curious. Still, she had a reputation to protect, so she just smirked at him.

"What's it to you?" Clove thought the question and tone of voice spoke for themselves, but Cato just laughed. She had another snarky comeback armed and ready when her _stupid_ cousin had to ruin it.

"Clove, come on!" Over Cato's shoulder, Clove could see Katniss at the end of the hall, annoyance written all over her face. Cato smirked.

"Yeah, _Clover_, let's go," he said. Clove ignored the innuendo, instead choosing to push past him down the hall, leaving the boy standing in the open doorway.

* * *

"Well, look who it is." The girl who spoke reminded Clove of a Barbie doll – tall, blond, and tan. She might have been pretty, but the disgusted curl of her lip when she looked at Katniss ruined the image. Perched on the end of a deck lounge chair, she was clad in a red bikini, but Clove doubted she'd get anywhere near the pool.

Katniss had that unhappy look on her face, and for the first time Clove wondered it was just about her. Still, she had other things to do than worry about her cousin's social life. Namely, the group of people currently scattered around the pool.

To her credit, Katniss didn't look bothered by Barbie's comment. Instead, she glanced around at the group, all of whom were staring at Clove.

"Everybody, this is Clove. My cousin."

* * *

Clove had never considered herself a shy person – she was simply not a people person. But as the afternoon wore on, she began to get tired of all the stares. She had always had an eye for looking around a room (or backyard) and seeing all the exits, and that afternoon was no different. Still, she was surprised when the red-haired girl found her – she had thought the chair was pushed far enough into the shadows that no one would see her.

The girl plopped down on the chair next to her, and Clove gave her the typical once-over. In a way, she reminded Clove of herself – small in build, but with a certain agility and strength underneath the misleading size. If Clove had to pick, she'd say the girl was a runner, yet another thing they had in common.

They sat there for a while, not speaking. Just when Clove was getting used to the silence, the girl spoke.

"So you're the new girl from California. The football player's daughter," she said, not looking at Clove. It wasn't a question, but Clove found herself nodding anyway. She didn't know how this girl knew who her dad was, but that didn't really matter. Clove had been around long enough to know that there were people who _knew_ things. They had their sources, and it was best not to question. Clove would know. She used to be one of them.

Back in California, Clove had considered herself to be in the middle of the social ladder. She wasn't the most popular girl, but she also wasn't the least. She was the girl people came to when they needed information – often incriminating. Clove had to wonder if things worked the same in all high schools, or if that kind of behavior was exclusive to schools where a significant portion of the student body came from money. Even if it was, she supposed that her new school would be the same – Panem High School was, after all, in a particularly _wealthy_ part of Boston.

One look at the redhead beside her told Clove all she needed to know – this girl was in the same position Clove had been in California. Even though she hadn't planned on making friends in Boston, Clove found herself wondering if she needed to rethink that decision. This girl could be a very useful ally.

* * *

**Three guesses who Clove's new semi-friend is, and the first two don't count. :) **

**Hopefully I'll have the next chapter (or two) up soon. Spoiler - we'll get a who's who of the group at the party, given by our favorite redhead.**


End file.
